


Not Without Severus

by RubyLipsStarryEyes



Series: In a Manor of Speaking [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:41:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26830822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyLipsStarryEyes/pseuds/RubyLipsStarryEyes
Summary: Written for Hermione’s Nook Flufftober fest on FacebookOctober 4 prompt- doodles/doodling
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Lucius Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Lucius Malfoy/Severus Snape, Hermione Granger/Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy/Severus Snape
Series: In a Manor of Speaking [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950238
Comments: 2
Kudos: 59
Collections: Hermione's Nook Flufftober 2020





	Not Without Severus

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Hermione’s Nook Flufftober fest on Facebook 
> 
> October 4 prompt- doodles/doodling

Lucius sat at a long, highly polish cherry conference table. He twirled the Muggle pen in his fingers, attempting and failing to concentrate on the board meeting around him. He had significant investments in the Muggle world, and had done quite well since the war. 

Today, however, he had an appointment later on that was holding his attention. 

He looked down at the sheet of paper that he’d been doodling on since the meeting had started nearly an hour and a half before. He’d been thinking about it for months, but now the day was actually here, he felt as if his mind had gone blank. 

When he’d proposed to Narcissa, he’d used family rings, as per tradition. Now, that felt wrong. Hermione was a fresh start, a new beginning. It was only right that she’d get a brand new ring to signify his devotion and love for her. 

Then there was the small matter of proposing not just to Hermione, but to Severus. As per usual, Severus was refusing to speak about his feelings regarding anything deeper than what he’d like to eat for supper, and Lucius wasn’t entirely sure how he’d react to being proposed to. He supposed no matter Severus’ answer, he and Hermione would still make a lovely match. 

But Lucius was a man of action, and he wanted them both. Amongst the scribbles of ball-point pen ink were three coordinating rings. Lucius had been designing and tweaking them for months, trying to get them perfect for today. He was still mulling them over in his head when he left the Muggle high rise, strolling down the street. He was careful not to apparate too close to the building— he didn’t need the Statute of Secrecy enforcement breathing down his neck now— but he was eager to get going. 

Ducking down a side street, he glanced around before disaperating. He appeared on a small street off of Diagon Alley, ducking into a nondescript door. The witch at the desk turned doe eyes at him, but he was unaffected, single mindedly focused on the task at hand. He waited patiently for the door behind the witch to open, the man behind her ushering him into a smaller version of the conference room he’d vacated in the Muggle world. 

An hour later, Lucius was leaving, swinging by the chocolatier that Severus preferred before picking up Hermione’s order at Flourish and Blotts before aparating home. Passing off the chocolates and books to the house elf Tilly, he took a detour downstairs to Severus’ lab. 

He’d expected to find him brewing or perhaps pouring over a text, but the lab was empty and cold. Trailing his fingers over the work table, Lucius paused to consider where else the enigmatic man would be. His next stop was the library, but it was likewise void of Severus’ presence.

“Tilly!” 

“Yes Master Lucius?” She appeared at his side, luminous blue eyes turned up at him. 

“Do you know where Severus is?” He didn’t feel like hunting across the entire house, and he’d been hoping to speak with him before Hermione returned after work. 

“Master Severus went out, but did not tell Tilly when he would return.” The little elf grabbed at her ears, a sure sign of anxiety, which in turn made Lucius nervous. 

“When was that?” 

“Just after Master Lucius left at 10, sir.” 

“Thank you, Tilly.” Lucius dismissed the elf, and slowly made his way to the master suite. Shedding his Muggle suit for a set of comfortable robes, he settled on the sofa to wait for Severus’ return. He was still there when Hermione returned several hours later. 

“Lucius!” 

“In here, darling.” 

“Where’s Severus? I went to his lab but it doesn’t look like he’s been there all day.” She drifted into sight, pulling her hair away from her face. She stopped to kiss him, and Lucius’ anxieties calmed briefly before climbing again at Hermione’s obvious discomfort of having her routine disturbed. 

“Tilly said he went out. I’m sure he’ll be home soon, Princess. Don’t fret.” The comforting words fell easily from his lips, and while they seemed to placate Hermione, they did little to ease his own mind. 

It was well after midnight before Hermione drifted to sleep, her head resting in Lucius’ lap. He stroked her hair, watching the clock tick steadily later. The later it got, the tighter his anxiety gripped him, curling around his heart and lungs, threatening to strangle the life from him. He knew Severus could fend for himself… but he couldn’t deny the fear that Severus simply wouldn’t return. 

The steady ticking clock lulled him to sleep, Hermione’s head in his lap and her fingers knotted in his robes giving him a sense of security. When the clock struck three, he gathered Hermione in his arms, intending to take her to bed.

“Not without Severus,” she murmured, and Lucius sighed. 

“You need to sleep, and you’ll be aching if we spend the night on the sofa.” He didn’t mention the sharp pain that had developed in his own neck over the last several hours. 

“Not without Severus,” she repeated, and he realized that her eyes had never opened. She was still asleep, begging for the missing component of their relationship. It was then that something in his chest snapped, and he realized that she was right. They needed him. There was no “them” without Severus.

**Author's Note:**

> ***Again, disclaimer: The Series "A Manor of Speaking" is one (very out of order) story. It will be reordered and posted in proper form when flufftober and whatever else I'm adding to it is over.***


End file.
